School Notes: School of Architecture
September/October 2008

Architecture's "new" home

After an extensive renovation of its Paul Rudolph-designed Art & Architecture Building, the School of Architecture has moved back from its temporary quarters to its home at the corner of York and Chapel streets. The building will receive a new name -- Paul Rudolph Hall -- at a formal rededication celebration on November 7 and 8, which will also mark the introduction of the two other components of the arts complex: the Jeffrey Loria Center for the History of Art and the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library. Both the design of the new buildings and the restoration of the A&A Building are a project of Charles Gwathmey ’62MArch, principal of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. Dean Robert A. M. Stern ’65MArch said that Gwathmey's design was "carried out with both great sensitivity and a deep knowledge of Rudolph's aesthetic intentions," and called it a "valuable example to others who plan to restore modernist structures, a subject of increasing importance today."

Exhibition showcases twentieth-century architect

The school reopened its gallery August 28 with an exhibition showcasing the work of Hawaii's master architect, Vladimir Ossipoff (1907-1998). Ossipoff is credited with almost single-handedly defining the post-war architectural vernacular of the Hawaiian islands. Long before the concept of "sustainable building" became commonplace, Ossipoff was a proponent of site-sensitive planning and design, incorporating indigenous resources in construction and building in harmony with the landscape, environmental conditions, and culture. "Hawaiian Modern: The Architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff" explores the architect's lasting legacy and highlights his designs from the 1930s through the 1970s.

National Building Museum honors dean

Dean Stern has been chosen to receive the 2008 Vincent Scully Prize, presented by the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. This is the tenth anniversary of the prize, which recognizes exemplary practice, scholarship, or criticism in architecture, historic preservation, and urban design. It is considered one of the most important awards in the field. Stern is being honored for "his years of teaching at Columbia and Yale universities, his leadership as the dean of the Yale School of Architecture, and his seminal publications reflecting on the history of architecture in New York," and specifically for helping create the revival of the shingle style and successfully promoting traditional town planning. The awards ceremonies take place in November in Washington.